Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The 2012 presidential election shattered spending records , further polarized a divided country and launched a thousand hashtags . The race appeared to be a nail-biter going into Tuesday night but in the end , it came down to the state that most had been saying for weeks that it would â $ '' Ohio .

Here are five things we learned from Tuesday

Victorious Obama faces familiar challenges

1 . The GOP has a Latino problem

`` If we do n't do better with Hispanics , we 'll be out of the White House forever , '' says Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ana Navarro , who was the national Hispanic co-chair of Sen. John McCain 's 2008 presidential campaign .

`` The big issue Republicans are going to have to wrestle with is the Hispanic issue , '' adds Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ari Fleischer , who served as President George W. Bush 's first press secretary . `` Republicans are going to have to find a different way forward . ''

The national exit polls tell the story . Latinos are the fastest growing-segment of the population . Their share of the vote expanded from 9 % in 2008 to 10 % in this election . The president won 67 % of the vote four years ago . He increased that to 71 % this year .

Latinos were crucial in helping Obama win the battleground states of Colorado and Nevada , and in putting the president in the lead for Florida 's 29 electoral votes . And they were just as important in turning the former swing state of New Mexico into what appears to be an increasingly safe state for the Democrats .

CNN Election Center : 2012 exit polls

If the current trend continues , Arizona and Texas could turn from red to purple .

The 2012 election is a loud wake-up call for the GOP to change its stance on illegal immigration .

And that 's being acknowledged by arguably the best known Latino Republican senator .

`` The conservative movement should have particular appeal to people in minority and immigrant communities who are trying to make it , and Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them , '' said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in a statement Tuesday night .

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2 . The youth vote came up big â $ '' and the white vote got smaller

A big question heading into Election Day was whether younger voters would show up at the polls .

More of them did than last time .

According to national exit polls , 18-29 year olds increased from 17 % to 18 % of the electorate from 2004 to 2008 . They made up 19 % of the electorate this time around . That jump in size from four years ago made up for the president 's drop in capturing the youth vote , from 66 % in 2008 to 60 % in 2012 .

It was n't just age , but also race , that worked in the president 's favor .

Obama 's share of the white vote dropped from 43 % four years ago to 39 % this year . But that was negated by the shrinking of the white vote from 74 % of the electorate four years ago to 72 % now . And the African-American percentage of the electorate stayed steady at 13 % . Some GOP strategists said that the white vote needed to be 74 % for Romney to win .

`` The youth vote and the black vote turned out once again and that 's to the president 's credit , '' Fleischer said .

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3 . The auto bailouts helped drive Obama to victory in Ohio

For months , the Obama campaign touted the taxpayer bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler , and they were given prominent prime-time placement during the Democratic National Convention in early September . It 's a strategy that the Obama campaign thought could be the difference in Ohio , a major base for the auto industry that eventually decided the election .

`` The American auto industry is back on top , '' Obama said campaigning last week in the Buckeye State .

The bailouts were started under President George W. Bush in 2008 but Obama grabbed the keys to the program the next year , managing and funding the assistance .

Romney opposed the bailout and pushed for a privately financed and managed bankruptcy of the two automakers . The Obama campaign and other Democrats have attacked Romney over his opposition to the federal intervention , which aided the companies through their eventual bankruptcies .

And in the final weeks leading up the the election , the Obama campaign highlighted pushback by General Motors and Chrysler to a Romney TV ad and a radio spot this past week that claimed both domestic auto makers were sending U.S. jobs to China .

Portman stands by Romney auto ads

It seemed to work . Nearly six in 10 Ohio voters said they approved of the federal government 's role in helping the troubled domestic automakers , and according to exit polls , the president won three quarters of those voters .

Economy tops voter concerns in exit polls

4 . Romney was n't able to expand the map

Much was made of campaign visits by Romney and his running mate , Rep. Paul Ryan , to Pennsylvania in the final weekend before the election , and Romney 's return to the Keystone State on Election Day . The Romney campaign and allied super PACs supporting the GOP nominee flooded Pennsylvania airwaves in the final weeks with a flurry of TV ads .

To a lesser degree , there was a similar push in Minnesota , another solidly Democratic state where public opinion polls tightened last month .

There was talk by Romney campaign officials of being on offense and of expanding the electoral map .

It did n't pan out .

While Romney performed stronger than 2008 Republican nominee John McCain in Pennsylvania and Minnesota , it was n't enough . And of the swing states that swung blue four years ago , it appears Romney was only able to turn Indiana and North Carolina red again .

Romney 's ` all ' proved not enough

5 . What will $ 6 billion get you ?

We had a Democratic president , a Republican House of Representatives , and Democratic Senate going into the 2012 election . And we 'll have a Democrat in the White House , with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate after the election .

When all the bills are in , total spending for the 2012 election -LRB- all federal and state races -RRB- could top a record-breaking $ 6 billion . And what did all that money buy ?

2012 election priciest to date : $ 4.2 billion tab and rising

Some would argue ... nothing .

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The president increased his support with Latinos , the fastest growing segment of the population

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Changes in the size of the youth vote and the white vote worked in Obama 's favor

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The auto bailout helped Obama in Ohio , a crucial battleground

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Romney failed to expand the map and lost in Pennsylvania and Minnesota